Graduation signs and university banners have been popping up all over our neighborhood. Local students are taking one step further towards starting their adult lives. Students with intellectual and developmental disabilities grow up and move on, too. Project SEARCH or a similar work-based learning program. Project Search is a collaboration between certain school districts, one or more adult disability service provider agencies, and one or more employers in the same area

When a young person with a disability turns 18, the youth and his/her parents are under pressure to complete a lot of tasks quickly. The young person may need Powers of Attorney or some form of guardianship so that parents can continue to provide input for financial, health care, and other decisions. The youth will benefit from filing for Social Security disability benefits but may also need updated testing to accurately reflect her or his support needs. It may be necessar

I was very excited when a former client returned with a request to work together on a Plan to Achieve Self Support (PASS). Either PASS is a well-kept secret or the 10-page form that the Social Security Administration requires discourages people from using this tool which can generate significant career development and financial benefits for a person with disabilities who receives Supplemental Security Income (SSI)or who could receive SSI once the plan is implemented. This b

I spent half of last week at the Illinois Center for Transition and Work’s (ICTW’s) annual symposium. As the name suggests, the Center’s mission is developing, educating about, and promoting approaches that improve the employment outcomes of students with disabilities--including intellectual and developmental disabilities and those requiring a high level of support—to move towards a post-secondary outcome of competitive employment in the community. I brought to the table ed